An award-winning Aberdeen-based private medical clinic has launched a new weight-loss programme aimed at the offshore industry in a bid to tackle the increasing levels of obesity.
Temple Medical, led by qualified GP Dr Sam Robson, has adapted a weight-management programme to help overweight offshore workers.
There has been a significant rise in obesity levels across the UK and Scotland, and figures show the average weight of oil workers has risen by three stone over the last 10 years, with many employees finding it difficult to eat a healthy diet offshore.
A number of energy companies are already targeting workers with a waist size of over 37 inches and offering them weight-loss programmes via occupational-health providers.
The diet service, Alizonne Offshore, has been designed to fit with the lifestyles of offshore workers, and is medically supervised to ensure patients can lose weight in a reliable and predictable manner, without the need for any surgery.
Dr Robson, medical director at Temple Medical, said: “In an offshore environment, being overweight or obese is not only a health issue, it is also a major safety issue for the individual and the employer. It can cause significant problems with helicopter transport, rescue handling issues, the ability to escape during an emergency and also the ability to perform some duties.
“We were seeing remarkable results with Alizonne with patients typically losing a stone a month, so we decided to trial it with offshore clients. We found that being predominantly male, the weight loss on average was much faster, with the current record loss of 40 pounds in 36 days.”